ACTIVE TEACH RIBBON for Microsoft
Access

This
utility is a COM add-in programmed in Microsoft® Visual Basic® for
Application (VBA) using RibbonX and CommandBars objects to be functional
in any Microsoft® Office local language. It destines to Microsoft®
Access® users migrating to the 2007, 2010, or 2013 version that, knowing
the positions in the previous menu and toolbars structure, want
to know instantaneously where they are in the Ribbon or want,
eventually or not, to continue using menu and toolbars
structure in the proper Access 2007, 2010, or 2013 without making changes in
the Ribbon that could disturb the adaptation to the new interface.

Note: Showing a classic interface, although the
main target described here is to teach the positions
in the new interface, the Active Teach Ribbon has options
to satisfy everyone: those users who love the new Ribbon
interface and want to learn it fast and those who hate
it. Despite Microsoft claims that it is an irreversible
success, some users may want to hide it completely and
show the classic interface with all its menus and
toolbars, including context ones. Please see the
FAQs for information about settings.

All your
knowledge and practice in the previous interface will continue being
useful as before and they still go to facilitate your adaptation
to Access new interface. Do not throw away your experience, but
do not stagnate in it, by the contrary, use it to advance.

It contemplates
all menu commands and toolbar buttons in all of their different
possible positions to be taught and/or acted, about 1838 in 42 bars
that are shown by option or by context like in the original. The
structure pops up selectively with the mouse running and goes away
in an automatic fashion without polluting the new interface with
bars, which is the main target of the Ribbon.

The menu
and toolbars structure is shown in a faithful and totally contextual
way, making it possible to easily find the desired button. When
clicking on the button, a new menu will be shown with the same button
followed by step by step instructions on how to locate it in the
Ribbon. The button is a faithful copy of the built-in one, which
allows it to optionally or contextually be disabled or until enabled
with productive effects.

It consists
of only one file, the AccessTeachRibbon.dll, which is about 860
kb in size and can be installed automatically. Except for the DLL,
no another setting is saved in the Windows Register. Its setting
is saved in AccessTeachRibbon.ini and AccessTeachRibbonRegister.dat
files that are created and maintained by the proper utility. You
can uninstall it totally and automatically, leaving no mess on your
Windows Register or disc.

The first
necessary and unique lesson to begin using this utility and to begin
reading and understanding its main features is see new interface
explanation
here for Access 2007 or
here for Access 2010 in Microsoft site.

Features:

- The
popup menu bar is shown vertically with all of the menus popping
up with mouse over, which is just like the original.

- The
toolbars are shown vertically, as well, but are more informative
than the original toolbars, because, beyond the icons, they also
show button captions.

- As
in the earlier UI, a toolbar can be available (visible) in accord
with the context, but you can show/hide any toolbar.

- The
available (visible) bars are listed alphabetically soon after Standard
and Formatting toolbars that, if available (visible), will always
appear on the top, by default.

- It
contemplates all 2003 toolbars, about 41 in all.

- It
can contemplate all menu commands and toolbar buttons in all of
their different possible positions, about 1821.

- It
can be used in three modes: ‘Only Teach’, ‘Teach and Act’, and ‘Only
Act’. The second seems to be the most ideal and definitive mode,
but, in the first few days of use, the three can be ideal in different
conditions. The first, when the user desires to speed up the learning;
the second, when the user is lightly tired or hurried; and the third,
when the user is very hurried to finish a job. These options are
what makes it possible for users with experience in the previous
interface to become immediate and productive users of Access
2007, 2010, or 2013.

- The
‘Only Act’ mode can be perfectly understood as an alternative interface
for Access where all the application area, except title and status
bars, is available to the document. An interface maybe more friendly
than original ones of 2003 and 2007, 2010, or 2013, because all buttons
and commands, inclusive in Full Screen, are available and in the
way of the mouse to be acted always with only two clicks in an optimized
configuration.

- The
2003 menus, commands, and buttons captions, as well as the Ribbon
tabs, groups and buttons captions, are exactly equal to what appears
in the local interface thanks to the RibbonX object. Therefore,
except for some notes, normally about the button absence in the
Ribbon, the Active Teach Ribbon aims to be functional in any Office
local language.

- It
can repeat the instructions of the last taught button.

- A long
instruction with many steps or presenting more than one possible
position in the Ribbon, can, to save memory effort, reappear automatically
while you follow the steps browsing between Ribbon tabs. For this,
it’s sufficient to click on an instruction line and it will reappear
in 1.5 seconds, which is sufficient time to activate a tab. But,
if you desire more time, keep pressing the Shift key or the Ctrl
key.

- It
can be started from the “Teach Ribbon” button created in the Ribbon
Add-Ins Tab and optionally from almost all the context menus and
from a keyboard shortcut key set by the proper user. Context Menus
are activated by the mouse right button or by the ‘Context Menu’
key that is in the right side of the modern keyboards, next to the
Ctrl key.

- It
has a well optimized actuation dynamics where invariably any button
is only at three clicks, but the proper user can still reduce it
to only two clicks, adding the Teach Ribbon button at the Add-Ins
Tab to the Quick Access Toolbar.

- The
same limited version, available here to download, can be registered
after it is installed. When inserting a Serial and a Registration
Key, the limitations will be removed without the need of a reinstallation.
You can get now a Serial by purchase or for free (Free Pass for
30 days trial), see the Register item below.

- Still,
without registering, the installation continues with all features
functional, but limited to teach until 310 positions, the first
five positions in each menu or toolbar.

- Optionally,
it can also show all classic menus and toolbars, about 41 in total,
in Ribbon tab Add-ins in a fixed way, not in the form of a popup.
As in the earlier UI, a toolbar can be visible by option or in accord
with the context, but you can show/hide any toolbar.

- Optionally,
if the previous option is selected, all other fixed Ribbon tabs
can be hidden. Note: this is not recommended! Hiding Ribbon
tabs makes it impossible to teach positions in the new interface
and the Active Teach Ribbon popup menu will only be used in ‘Only
Act’ mode and to show and hide the classic interface toolbars. When
keeping the tabs visible, you can use the best of both interfaces
while, when there is available time, this helps you to learn to
adapt to the new interface that, according to Microsoft, is an irreversible
success in the current and future versions.

- Optionally,
if the two previous options are selected, the contextual Ribbon
tabs can be hidden (disabled), too. Note: this is not recommended!
Classic interface users may even question the improvement of the
ribbon tabs in the new interface, but the contextual tabs are a
real improvement for classic contextual toolbars. They are much
more complete and nearly all new and important 2007, 2010, or
2013 version
features are contained in them. Keeping them visible helps you to
use the best of both interfaces.

- When
acting the Teach Ribbon button with Shift key pressed, the ‘Only
Act’ mode is temporarily enabled without changing current setting.

Note: The above link downloads the installer and uninstaller
package programmed in VBA in a MDB duly converted to
EXE by the DBtoEXE to
make the installation easier for macro and Microsoft®
Windows® laymen; however, if you're an expert and for
some reason prefer an installer and uninstaller package
in open ZIP format, click
here. With this zip package you can install it in
three ways: (1) Simply initiate the Install.exe that
loads the same MDB in Access without macro alert; (2)
Extract the entire package to a folder and initiate
the MDB, enabling the macros in Access and using 123
as password, or (3) Install the DLL manually.

Pictures:

Register by Purchase or Free Pass:

You can
register your currently operating utility installation by a simple
Serial number purchased or obtained from a Free Pass for a 30 day
trial.

1 - Why
and How:

When
registering your installation by the Serial number, the 310 positions
limit, the first five positions in each menu or toolbar, is removed
to teach the new positions in the Ribbon of all the 1821 possible
positions in the Access 2003 menus and toolbars. The commands and
buttons limitation of on the ‘Only Act’ mode and on classic menu
and toolbars is removed too.

The installation
of the proper version available above for download and evaluation
can be easily registered. Once installed and running, use the Register
command, the last command on the start menu, to insert your Serial
number, and follow the instructions to get the Registration Key
that will be available for copying on an Internet homepage.

To register, you must acquire one of the available
serial number types: Nominal Serial or Bearer Serial.

The
Nominal Serial number is for Volume Licenses for companies
and costs US$20.00 for a license for 25
computers and US$0.50 for each additional
computer. You must provide user information in order to allow a
minimum identification. To acquire a Nominal Serial number, send
an email to
orlando@cpap.com.br with the minimum following information:
company name, the city and country in which the company is located,
and the number of computers that you want to license.

The
Bearer Serial number is simpler and cheaper to purchase.
It can be purchased now with a simple money transfer through
Paypal
international server. Additionally, you can purchase it anonymously.

This
process is very secure, privative, simple, and anonymous if you
so choose. Without sharing financial info or filing an official
registration, you can become the owner of a Serial number that gives
utility use rights to its bearer in a personal and permanent way;
thus, you can sell it hereafter if you choose.

The Bearer
Serial below of eigth case sensitive characters is now available
to you for only US$8.00.

Serial:
Error!

PayPal

2 - Free Pass:

You can
already use the offered Serial with the Registration Key below with
a free pass. The free pass enables you to test a registered and
fully functional instalation freely for 30 days:

Serial:Error!
(Eight case sensitive characters)

Key:Error!
(Four case sensitive characters)

Notes:

- To
enter the Serial and the Key above, after downloading and installing
the Teach Ribbon, open the Access, activate the 'Teach Ribbon' button
on the Add-ins Tab of the Ribbon, and use the Register command,
which is the last command on the start menu.

- The
Serial will remain valid, but a new Key will be required after 30
days.

- If
you, exceptionally, need to use it past 30 days, a new key can be
obtained quickly in this
dynamic link that is shown in the proper utility registration
dialog box. The link is a homepage where you can obtain the Key
copying or noting, because unfortunately, for security issues, this
utility does not make connection with the Internet to obtain key.

- However,
this is still easier and more convenient for you than trying to
retrocede your computer calendar, but the best option is purchasing
your Serial and getting your computer definitive Key.

- Your
computer does not need to be connected to the Internet for you to
be able to get a Key that has only four characters. You can type
the dynamic link short address shown by the utility in the Microsoft®
Internet Explorer® address bar of the other computer.

- You
also can return to this page to get a new Serial and a new Key.

- Despite
all these facilities, the intentional productive use of this utility
out of the acceptable grace period for tests, normally 30 days,
it is an illegal attitude.

3 - Technical
Notes About Serial and
Registration Key:

Buying
the Serial gives you the definitive Registration Key, avoiding the
necessity to get a new Key every 30 days.

When inserting
the Serial of eight characters, the utility already installed makes
a checksum of it, generating a new four characters that, together
with the proper serial, are going to compound the dynamic link.

The dynamic
link is showed in the utility dialog box exactly as it is, and the
proper user, by clicking on it or copying it, inserts it into the
address bar of Internet Explorer. This immediately returns a homepage
with the suitable Registration Key to be copied or noted and inserted
in the utility dialog box still by the proper user, because unfortunately,
for security issues, this utility does not make a connection with
the Internet to obtain a Key.

The Internet
Explorer, or any Internet browser, does not need to be the one on
your computer. It can be the browser of any other computer.

The checksum
annexed to the Serial certainly does not carry any specific information
from your computer due to three very simple reasons.. First, because
it is a simple checksum of a string based in the proper Serial,
try to change a character of the Serial and you will see that the
Checksum changes, too. Secondly, because it is impossible put any
valid information in, it only allows four characters. And thirdly,
because it is always the same in your computer, therefore neither
info part can be carried to an eventual composition.

The only
purpose of the Registration Key is to avoid the Bearer Serial distribution
on the Internet in an indiscriminate way. If you are a normal user
and take care of your Serial, with certainty, you are not going
to perceive any inconvenience, because:

- You
can uninstall and install Windows and Office in your computer as
many times as you want and as is necessary.

- You
can format and change your computer HD.

- You
can even use your computer HD in another computer and you won’t
be required to get a new key.

- Your
Serial can only go to required different Keys if it is used in other
computers, but it is perfectly tolerable that you have one or two
Desktops in the home and at work, and more one notebook and substitute
them all by new ones in each six month period that your Serial returns
automatically to the new state.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

1 - I like new Ribbon interface and would like to learn it as quickly
as possible. Which would be my best setting?

Tip!
For faster access with fewer mouse clicks, right-click on the
Active Teach Ribbon button on the Ribbon Add-Ins tab and add it
to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).

3 - I dislike new Ribbon interface and prefer to continue using
the classic menu and toolbars. However, I know that it is irreversible
and eventually I would like to try to learn. Which would be my best
setting?

On the
Active Teach Ribbon “Options” menu, mark two options: the "Teach
and Act" option and the "Show Classic Menu on Ribbon Add-Ins Tab”
option.

4 - I dislike new Ribbon interface. I don’t want to learn it because
I think it doesn’t have a future and I prefer to continue using
the classic menu and toolbars, but without losing the true improvements
of the 2007, 2010, or 2013 version present on contextual tabs. Which would
be my best setting?

5 - I dislike new Ribbon interface. I don’t want to use anything
from it, not even the contextual tabs; I prefer to use a purely
classic interface. Which would be my best setting?

A priori,
this doesn’t look reasonable, but you can have your reasons. On
the Active Teach Ribbon “Options” menu, mark three options: the
"Show Classic Menu on Ribbon Add-Ins Tab" option, the "Hide All
Others Ribbon Tabs (Not Teach)" option, and the "Hide Ribbon Contextual
Tabs Too" option.

6 - Is the Active Teach Ribbon a heavy program that can cause some
performance loss in Access?

The Active
Teach Ribbon doesn’t cause noticeable performance loss even when
starting Access in slow machines and its responses are usually almost
instant because it is a simple COM add-in with a single DLL of only
860 kb fully programmed in VBA. It doesn’t require any external
library even when using its automatic installer; its calls are restricted
exclusively to an internal library in any Office and Windows basic
installations.

7 – Does the Active Teach Ribbon save changes to the Windows Registry
or in the Access configuration files, leaving dirt after being uninstalled?

Except
for the DLL register as a COM add-in, no other change is saved in
the Windows Registry or in the Access configuration files. Its settings
are saved in its own files created and maintained by itself. If
you manually remove the DLL from the Windows Registry using the
Access COM add-in manager and then delete AccessTeachRibbon.dll
and AccessTeachRibbon.ini files from the disk, nothing will be left
as dirt even after having registered with a Free Pass for a 30 days
trial. But you don’t have to do this manually; the same file that
you downloaded to install can also uninstall and clean everything
automatically.

Note:
In Windows XP and Vista, only users with full administrative rights
can install and uninstall COM add-ins; however if you try to install
without rights, this won’t cause any major problems, it simply won’t
install.